Branstad vetoes $7 million in projects at state universities

Friday

Jun 21, 2013 at 10:09 AMJun 21, 2013 at 10:36 AM

The board that oversees Iowa's public universities is applauding the governor's approval of critical funding increases for next year, but at the same time is expressing disappointment in the veto of $7 million worth of construction projects.

The board that oversees Iowa’s public universities is applauding the governor’s approval of critical funding increases for next year, but at the same time is expressing disappointment in the veto of $7 million worth of construction projects.

The list of items axed include $2.5 million for the design and planning of a biosciences building at Iowa State University; $3 million for a new pharmacy building at the University of Iowa; and $1.5 million for the renovation and modernization of the University of Northern Iowa’s Schindler Education Center.

Those were just a few of the vetoes announced by Republican Gov. Terry Branstad late Thursday, ending action on bills passed during the 2013 session. Iowa Board of Regents President Bruce Rastetter issued a statement less than two hours later, referencing both the higher education funding that was approved and the $7 million that fell under the veto stamp.

Regents “could not be happier” with the increases, which include a 2.6 percent boost to general operating funds that will allow the universities to freeze undergraduate tuition for the upcoming academic year, Rastetter said.

Among the items approved was $12 million to expand the Iowa State University Research Park.

“However, the board is disappointed that funds necessary for the planning and design for the highest priority academic capital projects, which are central to the specific missions of each university, were not approved,” Rastetter said.

Sen. Herman Quirmbach , D-Ames, said he was also disappointed. Quirmbach, who chairs the Senate Education Committee, said Iowa’s universities are still recovering from funding losses driven by the recession.

“We have only begun to build back some of those lost resources. At the same time we have to plan for the future,” he said, taking particular issue with the veto of the funds for ISU’s biosciences building.

The field of biosciences has significant potential for economic growth, Quirmbach said, and ISU “wants to be well-positioned to be one of the leaders in this highly competitive field.”

“We need to have state-of-the-art facilities both for their own sake and to attract top faculty and researchers,” he said.

The project’s full cost has been estimated at upwards of $42 million and until sustainable financing is secured, it wasn’t appropriate to spend money on the design plans, Branstad said.

The governor also stressed that the Board of Regents should review infrastructure needs at Iowa’s public universities “in light of changes in educational technology,” which make it possible to deliver education at a lower cost.

“Technology and innovation should make it feasible to deliver high-quality education to students at a lower tuition and infrastructure cost, as delivery of educational services will require less physical presence on college campuses in the future,” Branstad said.

Quirmbach pounced on the suggestion that campuses will require a smaller physical presence, saying: “Where does the governor intend for the student to do their lab work? … In the dorm?”

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